Dealing with Overwhelm and Burnout

By Rachel Roberts

Magic Words Online Counsellor

Firstly, what does it feel like to be overwhelmed and what’s the difference between that and burnout?

Being overwhelmed is feeling like everything is on top of you, like the world feels very heavy. It's all down to you. If you don’t get that huge to-do list done, something bad will happen. It’s about a loss of control, and you’re desperately grasping it back. When you are overwhelmed, often your emotions are at full speed - anything can make you burst into tears, lash out in anger or generally feel on edge 100% of the time.

Burnout, however, often feels the opposite. Your emotions are blunted, and many people find that they ‘just don’t care anymore’. You feel like you’ve given up, you’re tired, emotionally drained, you don’t want to be around people and when you are, you’re in shut down mode.

So, how can I deal with these feelings?

First, figure out if it’s burnout or overwhelm. They have similarities, so defining them can be that first powerful step towards taking back control of your emotions. Check if you’re trying to do everything (overwhelm) or avoid everything (burnout).

Second, realise that the to-do list is not you. You are not defined by the jobs you do. Instead, you are defined by what makes you so special; your heart, soul, sense of humour, the joy you give to people around you. So what if the dusting doesn’t get done… Did you make someone laugh today? Did you give someone a hug that made them smile?

Third, recognise that you are not perfect. Once we get into our minds that we must be spot on with everything, overwhelm is right around the corner. When perfection creeps in, we find ourselves taking on much more work because we want to make sure everything is ‘just so’. Who has had the thought ‘oh I’ll just do it myself. They will get it wrong anyway’? I know I have! This can mean you are so overloaded with work, you can become numb - here comes burnout! But you have to think, sometimes other people do get it wrong and that’s ok. The world is complicated, off-kilter, and that’s what makes it so unique and interesting. Let others take the job every now and then and give yourself a break. I promise it’s ok.

Finally, figure out a way to control your breathing. When we are in overwhelm and burnout, it’s pretty much the modern equivalent of fight/flight or freeze mode. This means our breathing changes dramatically because our bodies work a different way - it’s preparing to (for example) run away from that tiger. Breathing exercises can be very simple - box breathing is a good one to do at your desk, while watching TV or while lying in bed.

You breathe in for a count of 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4 and then hold the out breath for 4. A few rounds of this will reset your breathing, which clears your mind.

There are plenty of breathing exercises that you can try, here are some yogic breathing practices which can help calm down that overwhelmed state of mind: 9 Yogic Breathing Practices

If you take nothing else away from this blog apart from one thing, please let it be this: Perfection is impossible, and trying to be so will cause you distress. Take that imperfection and enjoy it, celebrate it and honour it. That’s what makes you wonderful.

Creatively Connecting with Nature

By Kaylea Mitchell-Simon

Magic Words Online Counsellor

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvellous
”

— Aristotle

I know for some the word ‘creativity’ can seem quite daunting, however there are no expectations being set here, this exercise is merely an opportunity to connect with nature and instil some calm and self-care into your life. Being creative in nature is known to decrease anxiety and reduce levels of stress, giving a much needed boost to our mental health. All I ask is you keep reading and give it a go, requiring only a pen and paper and a willingness to try. You never know, you may surprise yourself! 

Life is often so demanding, without realising it we are frequently not present in the moment, focusing on tomorrow, next month, or even next year. This ‘busy mind’, although useful for planning and organisation, can often increase stress and anxiety as we find ourselves stuck in a vicious cycle of behaviour. Consequently, we forget to slow down and take care of ourselves, running the risk of impacting our mental health, making our difficulties even worse.  

Why is it, if we had pain or discomfort in an arm or a leg, we would aim to do all we can to make it better, yet we often do not approach our mental health in the same way? By listening to both our body and mind we can implement the self-care we need to support our mental health. This exercise invites you to slow down your busy mind and be present and creative in nature by following the steps below: 

1. You don’t have to climb a mountain to be present with nature, simply do whatever is right for you. You can connect with nature by travelling to a park, sitting in your garden, or even looking out of your window. Once in your space, sit comfortably or lie down, and help instil calm by closing your eyes and taking a few slow deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.

2. Be present and take in your surroundings by spending at least five minutes paying attention to your senses. Focus on what you can see, smell, hear, touch and taste, as you soak up your environment.

3. Grab your pen and paper and split your page into five sections, with one of your senses written in each (as demonstrated below). Make a note of all sensations, trying to write at least one sense in each box, using describing words where possible.

4. If you feel comfortable doing so, write about your experience, perhaps creating a piece of descriptive writing, a poem, or even journaling your sensations. However, for those seeking a little guidance, perhaps attempt an acrostic poem, which is described below along with an example.  

Whatever you choose to write, don’t worry about structure or spelling, and don’t believe the myth that all poetry must rhyme! Use the exercise as a chance to connect with your environment creatively, not focussing too much on ‘getting it right’ but just giving it a go.  

5. Once you have finished, try to read your poem aloud, really listening to your words. Then sit back and be present, enjoying your surroundings.  

Finally, there are so many ways to be creative. If writing isn’t for you, perhaps try something else, such as photography, drawing or colouring. Everybody is different, so find what works for you, and whatever you choose, take care of your mental health by being present and creative in nature. 

Speech Therapists and Counsellors Join Forces!

By Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Frankie Paterson

Speech Therapists and Counsellors Join Forces!

As a busy Speech and Language Therapy service providing support to over a thousand people, our team at Magic Words Therapy have been struck by the increase in mental health needs amongst people of all ages using our service. This has always been a noticeable trend but since the global Coronavirus pandemic took hold last year, we have observed a stark increase in mental health concerns amongst our clients.

Our observations are shared by other independent speech and language therapists in our network and back up what is being found on a national scale:

1. According to the Office for National Statistics ‘Opinions and Lifestyle Survey’ covering January to March 2021, around 21% of adults experienced some form of depression in early 2021; more than double what was observed before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (10%).

2. 67% of young people surveyed in January 2021 by the Young Minds charity believed that the pandemic would have a long-term negative effect on their mental health.

3. The Children’s Commissioner reported a 35% increase in referrals to children’s mental health services in 2019/20.

The fact that there is a mental health crisis in this country is undeniable but fully explainable, given the current global backdrop of climate change, social inequality, and the Coronavirus pandemic.

Let’s come back to the mental health threats often posed by communication difficulties. Children with unclear speech often struggle to be understood by those around them and can experience isolation and frustration, which sometimes becomes an issue in itself. Adults that have had strokes or other forms of brain injury can experience much the same but with an added sense of loss and grief for the person they were before their brain injury. Autism can be accompanied by mental health struggles as the person negotiates the challenges of their condition such as hypersensitivity and anxiety and the struggle to function in a world that sadly is all too often not inclusive of Autistic or other neurodiverse people.

Some communication challenges have a psychological as well as a neurological origin. For example, stammering. Stammering is known to be caused by a combination of factors, including psychological, environmental, and neurological. Selective Mutism, when an individual has a phobia about speaking in certain environments with particular people, is also known to be partly psychological in origin.

Since the lockdowns began, we have seen a growing number of cases of both Selective Mutism and stammering that have arisen in people seemingly as a reaction to the strain that this worrying time has had on these individuals.

We know from the various institutions we work in, such as schools, care homes and private and public workplaces, that they have been inundated by rising numbers of people needing mental health support. Sadly that need is often not getting met due to the sheer numbers of people needing help.

Magic Words has provided Online Speech and Language Therapy since before the pandemic began and this has seen a huge growth in popularity during lockdowns and beyond. We have recently set up an Online Counselling service to do our bit towards easing what would seem to be a mental health crisis in the UK.

We’re excited about the launch of this service and are looking forward to learning from the very experienced and talented group of Counsellors we have recently welcomed to our Magic Words team. We envision that working alongside them will enhance and develop our practice as Speech and Language Therapists and that this will be a two-way growth opportunity! Exciting times ahead!

Office for National Statistics: ‘Opinions and Lifestyle Survey’ January to March 2021. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/coronavirusanddepressioninadultsgreatbritain/januarytomarch2021

Coronavirus: Impact on Young People with Mental Health Needs Surveys conducted by ‘Young Minds’, January 2021. https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs/#covid-19-january-2021-survey

Children’s Commissioner report ‘The State of Children’s Mental Health Services 2020/21’, January 2021

COVID-19’s calamitous effect on our children’s language development: bridging the language gap

By Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Eleanor Harris

COVID-19’s calamitous effect on our children’s language development: bridging the language gap

Today it has widely been reported that the successive COVID-19 lockdowns may have caused a 25% increase in the number of children with SLCN (speech, language and communication needs) in our reception classrooms (4 and 5 year olds). The data has come from from SpeechLink and has supported earlier findings from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) study of 50,000 pupils. These findings mirror what our speech therapists are seeing in the schools that we work in. Higher referrals, higher SLCN and higher caseloads.

Why is this?

This is not fully clear, however, we can postulate. Over time, fewer words heard in interactions and conversations equals fewer words learned and used by the child. Less sentence structure and word grammar heard by the child around them in conversations and interactions equals less chances for the brain to hear and develop word and sentence grammar. Lockdown has meant parents juggling full time work and educating their children. Many parents (including me) have found this extremely hard and have resorted to a variety of screens to ‘babysit’ the children whilst trying to hold down a job during the lockdowns. Grandparents, family members, friends, who normally pop in for conversations and cups of tea have not been round. All those chances for word learning in overheard conversations and direct interactions have been lost. Depressed parents equals fewer words spoken, equals less language heard by the child.

What does this mean for our children?

Research tells us that there is a strong correlation between the language levels of a child starting school and their academic and eventual career achievements. Starting school with lower language levels than they otherwise should have done because of the COVID crisis may place these children at a disadvantage. This disadvantage could be long lasting.

Research about the ‘critical period hypothesis’ by Friedman and Rusou (2015) showed that in order to successfully learn a first, native language children must have a ‘neurologically prepared mind’ (i.e. well-functioning brain prepared and ready to take in the language stimulus). In addition to this they must also be exposed to sufficient syntax (simple and complex sentence structures) before the age of 12 months old, otherwise they will be at risk of syntax difficulties as they get older (difficulty arranging words into simple and complex sentences).

The good news is that this critical period is longer for word and vocabulary learning, with very rapid word learning up until the age of 5 and continued rapid learning through to puberty. This means that although the lack of language input and stimulus caused by the national lockdowns may have set back some children’s vocabulary development, with appropriate strategies to enrich their word learning and the introduction of some appropriate catch-up interventions, children with lower vocabularies due to this lack of language exposure could catch up. Thankfully this current research by EEF and by SpeechLink has shone a light on this concerning problem allowing schools to make use of the £1 billion of catch-up funding that the government is making available to schools.

Bridging the language gap

Generic interventions such as the ‘Nuffield Early Language Intervention Programme’ or ‘Talk Boost’ have good evidence behind them for improving early language skills. Schools can get their staff trained to deliver these programmes. Often ongoing, more individually tailored and personalised language development programmes devised by a Speech and Language Therapist may be necessary to address this gap. More and more school settings are commissioning their own in house speech and language therapy service to advise them on the best ways to support their pupil’s SLCN.

The future

The worry for me as a Speech and Language Therapist is not just the children starting school now with lower language skills than they should do because of the lockdowns, which is a big worry of course. More concerning to me are the young babies born in 2019 or 2020 that may have missed out on quality syntactic (sentence structure) input in their first year of life due to decreased language exposure during the year of lockdown. These will be the children that we will need to monitor closely as they develop their language skills over the next few years to make sure that their language learning skills have not been effected. Some of these children may need specialist support as they go through their education.

The Magic of Books

The Magic of Books: How Reading with Children Builds Happy, Hungry Minds

By Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Frankie Paterson

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

— Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!”

Books take children to new places by helping them do well in school and in life. The stories they read take them on journeys in their imaginations where they can discover new worlds and meet new people whilst encountering language and ideas that enrich their lives. Reading helps children develop critical thinking skills and empathy for others and enhances their wellbeing and mental health.
We know all this. There is a wealth of research to prove it. And yet in 2019 it was found by the NLT (National Literacy Trust) that 383,755 children and young people in the UK didn’t have a single book of their own. Disadvantaged children were found to be even more likely than their peers not to own a book (9.3% vs 6%). *

So how does reading and being read to help children? In order to learn to read and write children first need a strong foundation of good spoken language skills. Children’s spoken language develops through the ‘back and forth’ of turn-taking in conversation, exposure to a wide range of words to build vocabulary and to songs, rhymes, books and stories, including establishing regular reading habits and something called dialogic reading.

Dialogic reading is an interaction, a shared experience between adult and child over a book. The adult follows the child’s interest and they chat together about what’s on the page or about experiences the child may have had that relate to the story. Doing this makes story reading a bonding experience that yields a great deal in the way of language learning. Dialogic reading might even go beyond the power of spoken conversation for developing children’s language skills.** Through dialogic reading children hear words in a variety of contexts. Pictures in books support the child’s understanding of the story and of the new words being encountered. Valuable discussion can be had about the meanings of words or the reason characters might have acted or thought in a certain way; this helps children develop analytical and inferential thinking. Dialogic reading helps young children develop joint attention with an adult which is vital for all their future learning. Children who read with their parents are more likely to go on to read books independently for pleasure. Reading for pleasure has been found to be more important to a child’s academic success than their parents’ socio-economic status. ***

We also know that children who read for pleasure have significantly better mental wellbeing than their peers who don’t. **** During the first national lockdown in 2020 an NLT survey found that 3 in 5 (59.3%) of the children and young people asked said that reading makes them feel better. *****

Regular reading routines benefit everyone in the family, not just children. The ‘bath book bed’ ritual offers parents and children protected time together amidst busy family life. The act of a parent reading to a child shows them they are important enough to get Mum or Dad’s attention in that moment and so can be hugely instrumental in building healthy attachment. Daily reading with children benefits adults too. Five to ten minutes a day of reading a book with your child is a quick way to increase your confidence in your parenting skills while having the fun and bonding experience of escaping into a story together.******

You don’t need to have great reading skills for this. Storytime should be an interaction between you and your child more than an exercise in reading ability. What can you see on the page? What might happen next? Why did a character do what they did? How might they feel? How did the story make you feel? You can get so much interaction and language out of just looking at a picture book together without reading any of the words. I do this all the time in my therapy with children. For parents who really struggle with reading there are silent picture books, containing no words at all, where captivating stories are told through illustrations alone.

Our Magic of Words in Books project is as much about getting families reading together as it is about donating books to children. For every therapy session we deliver in 2021 we will donate books to children who need them. Alongside this we are launching a campaign to show parents and educators how to share books with children in the way we do it in our therapy sessions.

I’ll leave you with some thoughts about how to get children passionate about reading. Most importantly make sure that they’re accessing books they’re excited and captivated by. Scour the library, local bookshop or online bookseller for books about things your child is into or that will capture their unique imagination. There are millions of books out there and you will be able to find some your child likes. Continue reading with your children way beyond the age they can read for themselves, carry on as long as they’ll let you! Ten minutes a day is enough. Even fitting in two or three minutes at different times in the day will do them, and you, the world of good.

* National Literacy Trust’s ninth Annual Literacy Survey, 2019.
** E. T. Rodriguez, C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, M. E. Spellmann et al., “The formative role of home literacy experiences across the first three years of life in children from low-income families,” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 677–694, 2009.
*** OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: Learning to Learn: Student Engagement, Strategies and Practices (Volume III)
**** The National Literacy Trust’s eighth Annual Literacy Survey of 49,047 children and young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/mental-wellbeing-reading-and-writing/
***** https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/jacqueline-wilson-our-first-author-week-our-relaunched-virtual-school-library-oak-national-academy/
****** Egmont’s Reading for Pleasure Survey February 2019. https://www.egmontbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2020/05/Reading-for-Pleasure-2019-paper.pdf

5 reasons why SLTs should find out about dummy / pacifier use in pre-schoolers

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Rabab Sehr

Pacifiers or dummies are amazing tools for soothing children! They can provide real comfort to babies and young children. While they have that soothing ability it is wise to know when the use of a dummy or pacifier becomes damaging and no longer a useful tool to comfort young children. As Speech and Language Therapists we very often encounter children with unexplained speech sound disorders associated with structural impairments such as high arch palate or drooling without any noticeable muscle weakness. In these instances it is vital to find out if the child is still being given a dummy. Below are 5 reasons why we should be discouraging parents from giving dummies to children once they reach their first birthday:

1. Structural changes

So, what happens in the mouth when a child is sucking a dummy? Well the tongue cups the nipple of the dummy and depending on how often and hard the child is sucking; it pushes the dummy’s nipple against the child’s palate. This can cause permanent changes in the muscles and bones that can result in high arch palate.

2. Feeding delays

Remember all typical children go through the phase of ‘mouthing’, so when a child is sucking a dummy for a prolonged period, they are less likely to try new foods which can cause a delay in feeding development.

3. Reverse swallow pattern

Dummy sucking can encourage a reverse swallow pattern to develop. In simple terms it reinforces the front and back movement of the tongue as opposed to mature rotatory movement of tongue. This may result in poor chewing and digestive problems.

4. Drooling

During dummy use, the tongue is restricted from following a front - back movement pattern and the lips stay in a sealed posture around the dummy’s nipple. Very often when these dummy using children are not using a dummy they end up drooling because they are are un-practiced at the physical action of putting their lips into a sealed posture without their dummy. This means that they often have an ‘open mouthed posture’, causing them to drool.

5.  Speech and language delays

Prolonged dummy use can impact speech and language development due to the child experiencing a lack of opportunities to speak to those around them, because they have a dummy in their mouth.

If you are a parent who would like advice on whether using a dummy with your child is a good idea or not please contact us.

Helping teens with high-functioning Autism navigate social media

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Sonali Dutta

The ways in which we communicate have seen a drastic change in the last 10 years with social media making its way into our lives. Teenagers are at the very core of this expansive online community with your average teenager often being active in multiple platforms and apps. Through social media teenagers are greatly expanding their social reach and capacity and are connecting with the world at a rate like we have never known.

Social media plays an important role in making and maintaining friendships for this age group. A survey (Anderson & Jiang 2018) shows that about 81% of teenagers attribute their increased connectedness with their friends to social media and about seven in ten teens say it helps them express their creative side. Nevertheless, social media has also put tremendous pressure on the teens to stay on top of their activity, to fit in with their peers and stay in the loop. The same survey shows that 45% of teens report feeling of overwhelm and nearly the same percentage of teens feel the pressure to be liked by others. This indicates that the impact of social media on the emotional wellbeing of its teenage users is highly significant and should not be underestimated. As speech and language therapists, it is therefore vital that we look at the intricacies of this new platform of communication and its impact on the children we see so that we can support them to use it in a way that is in line with their aims of socialising and making friends but also reducing any potential harm they could suffer online.

Children on the Autism Spectrum may have particular difficulty using inferencing skills to understand sarcasm when chatting with their peers on social media. ASC (Autistic Spectrum Condition) is a cluster of conditions characterised by differences in communication, social interactions, expressing emotions and cognitive processing. Children with ASC may have learning abilities ranging from above to below average. Those with average to above average intellectual abilities, informally referred to as ‘High-Functioning Autism’ may face many challenges in mainstream school when interacting with their ‘neurotypical’ peers. Communication skills in the areas of pragmatics, social interactions and higher language skills (e.g. understanding inference, sarcasm, jokes, metaphors, or other non-literal language such as idioms) can prove challenging to some children with ASC and these children may feel confused and left out as a result. They are often at a high risk of being mocked at or bullied by peers who have limited awareness or understanding of Autism.

In order to make therapy functionally relevant to this client group, I have compiled a list of common chatting/texting phrases for my clients with their literal and possible non-literal meanings (see the table below for some examples). In sessions, I help these young people understand that messages may have indirect meanings and may not always directly mean what they say. We explore together the possible ‘hidden’ meanings behind the literal phrases. My intervention also addresses the difficulties these young people often have in expressing and understanding their own and others’ emotions in the context of the complexities of social media communication. Alongside the short-term targets, the overall goal of an intervention is to tie in with the bigger picture i.e. the overall wellbeing of that individual young person.

References

Teens and social media: An overview

Madden, M., Lenhart, A., Cortesi, S., Gasser, U., Duggan, M., Smith, A., & Beaton, M. (2013). Teens, social media, and privacy. Pew Research Center, 21(1055), 2-86.

Teens' social media habits and experiences

Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens’ social media habits and experiences. Pew Research Center, 28.

Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/. Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center, 31, 2018. Accessed November, 2020

“Friending” teens: systematic review of social media in adolescent and young adult health care

Yonker, L. M., Zan, S., Scirica, C. V., Jethwani, K., & Kinane, T. B. (2015). “Friending” teens: systematic review of social media in adolescent and young adult health care. Journal of medical Internet research, 17(1), e4.

Conversations about Stammering

By Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Frankie Paterson

This International Stuttering Awareness Day on 22nd October was particularly eventful for me as I was invited to appear on the radio alongside Liam Nattrass to talk about stammering. Liam is a Mental Health Practitioner and a person who stammers.

We were interviewed by seven different radio stations throughout the day on the 22nd October, starting with BBC Three Counties Breakfast Show with Andy Collins:

We really enjoyed talking to Andy, he made us almost forget about how nervous we were with his open and warm way of chatting. We even got to talk a bit about Gareth Gates singer songwriter, person who stammers and stammering ambassador, always a joy!

We then went on to be interviewed by Sky News Radio, Radio Essex and UCB Radio amongst other stations. On all the shows Liam and I were asked to give listeners information about stammering, namely what causes stammering, what it’s like to have a stammer, how common an issue it is and why one million people in the UK are thought to have stammers that they try to hide. We were asked what advice we would give to anyone who has a stammer, especially those who have stammers but suffer in silence.

“Don’t let having a stammer define you and most importantly don’t let it hold you back from anything you want to do in life”

— Liam Nattrass

As a person who stammers going on national radio to talk about stammering was the ultimate act of openness for Liam Nattrass, who has had a stammer since he started to talk. Liam now works as a Mental Health Practitioner for the NHS. It was a nerve wracking but positive experience for him going on the radio. There was a time when he would not have felt brave enough to be this open and in front of this many people; he has come a long way since then. Nowadays Liam feels strongly that one of the best things he can do for his stammer is to be open about it and embrace his role as a person who stammers as opposed to avoiding it or trying to hide that part of his identity. What better way to be open than to speak on national radio about his experience with his speech? All the radio hosts commended Liam for his bravery and confidence in speaking out openly about stammering. The advice Liam gave for people who stammer on all the shows followed similar lines, namely, don’t let having a stammer define you and most importantly don’t let it hold you back from anything you want to do in life. Sound advice indeed.

Interestingly one of the hosts we spoke to Gareth Cottrell from UCB radio is also a person who stammers. We were interested to hear on air about Gareth’s experiences. He told us he has a stammer in his day-to-day life and that he considers to be “often quite bad”. He finds that when he is on the radio he does not stammer. We talked about the hereditary nature of stammering as Gareth has concerns that his children may go on to stammer. I gave him some advice on how to communicate with his children if they do stammer to support them with their speech and to try to ensure that they do not develop anxiety or negative self-image in relation to their talking. I also explained that with stammering, as with most speech, language and communication challenges, early intervention from a speech and language therapist is proven to result in better outcomes for children.

Liam and I were both exhausted by the end of our day on the radio but both felt proud that we had done something that had seemed quite scary beforehand. We hope that we managed to reach people with our advice and generally increase awareness about stammering.

If your child has a stammer have a look here for information and strategies you can use to help.

If you yourself have a stammer take a look here for help and advice.

AAC at Halloween

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Developing Specialist
in Complex Needs, Charlotte Twelvetree

For those of you new to the topic of AAC, AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication and refers to a vast range of ways that people who are not able to communicate verbally, e.g. people with severe disabilities or those who have had major strokes, use other means to communicate such as speech generating devices (as used by the late Stephen Hawking).

As Speech Therapists we model how to use High-tech AAC devices for our clients through fun, motivating and functional activities. The families we work with have explored a range of cooking, craft, and play activities, all of which we can support them with using online therapy would you believe? Yes, it can be done and we make it work every day!

This week we have been doing Halloween related craft activities. My favourite activity has been these mummies. They have provided lots of chances to model communication and also opportunities for children to make choices using their personal communication skills. The children have also been able to direct me using their devices so I can join in too! We have been choosing:

• Colours

• People

• How to make the mummies (e.g. painting, sticking, colouring etc.)

• How many mummies to make

• Big or small parts / mummies

• Asking for help when we are stuck

Mental health support for children with speech, language and communication needs: Survey

By reseacher Mya Kalsi from University of York

What is the role of children’s language problems in their mental health? How does having a language problem affect the sort of support children might receive for their mental wellbeing?

These are the questions being asked by researchers from the Universities of York and Greenwich. Mya Kalsi, Hannah Hobson, Umar Toseeb and Louise Cotton want to know what parents of children with speech, language and communication needs think about their access and experience of mental health support for their children.

Previous research has shown that children with language problems are overrepresented in mental health settings. In fact, half of children in mental health settings meet the criteria for language impairment (1), and a third of children referred for emotional problems have an unsuspected language problem (2). This paints a picture that many children who access and receive support for mental health problems have language difficulties. However, we do not know whether children’s language problems affect the support they receive. It might be that the presence of language and communication problems speeds up recognising other problems children might be experiencing – so language problems might actually help children’s emotional or behavioural problems get noticed faster. However, it might also be the case that some interventions for children’s mental well-being (such as talking therapies) aren’t accessible for children with language problems. Also, professionals might assume that attention should be focused on the child’s language issues, and that addressing their language problems will help resolve other problems children are experiencing. This might make it harder for families to get support for their children’s mental health.

We are hoping to hear from over 300 families of children with speech, language and communication needs in the UK and Ireland. We are especially interested in hearing from parents of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), but would also like to hear from parents of children with a wide range of speech, language and communication needs, including children with Autism or hearing problems too. To part, you should:

· Be a parent of child who is aged between 4-16 years old, and your child has a speech, language or communication need

· Have at some time had some concern for your child’s mental health (you might not be worried any more – we would still like to hear from you!)

If families take part, they’ll be asked to complete some questions online. They’ll be asked a bit about themselves and their children’s language difficulties. They will also be asked whether they’ve sort help from school or their doctor for their child’s mental health problems. They’ll be asked if anything stopped them from asking or getting help, and if they did get support how they found it.

We want to hear about both the good and the bad – did therapists adapt the way they worked to support your child’s communication needs? What worked well, and what could have been better?

After we complete our survey, we hope to follow up with some more in-depth interviews to deeply investigate what would help support children with language difficulties and mental health problems best.

If you are a parent and would like to take part, you can read more about this study and complete the survey at:

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If you have any questions or comments, or would be willing to help us spread the word about our survey, please get in touch with Hannah Hobson

Further reading:

1. Camarata, S., Hughes, C. A. & Ruhl, K. L. Mild/Moderate Behaviourally Disordered Students. Lang. Speech Hear. Serv. Sch. 19, 191–200 (1998).

2. Cohen, N. J., Davine, M., Horodezky, N., Lipsett, L. & Isaacson, L. Unsuspected Language Impairment in Psychiatrically Disturbed Children: Prevalence and Langauge and Behavioral Characteristics. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 32, 595–603 (1993).

Lego Therapy: Brick by Brick

By Natasha

Those familiar little bricks are being put to extraordinary use. 

Originally developed by Daniel B. LeGoff (a neuropsychologist), who saw the mighty potential of this humble brick, Lego® Therapy has grown into a motivational practice used by speech and language therapists, teaching staff and parents alike. 

It is believed that the name Lego® was adapted from the Danish phrase for ‘play well’. Certainly for many children, the ability to play and interact within social settings seems perfectly natural: it is a skill we often take for granted.  Although, there are also children who find the strategies needed for peer interaction less accessible. Intimidating, even.

How can a child learn to socialize in a safe and supportive environment? 

Our method: Lego® Therapy! 

At Magic Words, we use this play-based approach to facilitate children toward ''communicative competence'' (Ralph and Rochester, 2016), depending on their individualised targets. Whilst some might need to work on maintaining eye contact and attention, others might attend the group to aid understanding of prepositions, problem-solving or sequencing.   

The aim of the game is, of course, to build a Lego model. This can be a simplistic or as complicated as you need it to be, according to ability and attention span of the group. The roles that we use are: 

• Builder: constructs the model, listens to the architect 

• Supplier: selects the bricks at each stage, listens to the architect 

• Architect: holds the instructions, describes the bricks to the supplier, instructs the builder where to put them 

• Facilitator: identifies problems and supports the group with solution 

If you have limited numbers you do not have to include every role. Pick them according to the child's targets. For example, if the child struggles with listening you may wish to encourage them by letting them be the builder; they have the motivational reward of receiving a brick and putting it in place. Alternatively, if you have a child who needs to practice describing and ordering key words, the architect role would be an option.

In addition to the jobs, we establish a set of lego-rules to encourage 'model' behaviour. Depending on the age of the group, this could be a clear-cut as good sitting, good looking, good listening, and good talking. Lego® points can be rewarded to acknowledge their participation.   

Once the adult has explained each rule and role, they must aim to 'gradually step back and allow the participants to work out social solutions more independently as the intervention progresses' (Ralph and Rochester, 2016). It is hoped that at some point each child will become their own facilitator and navigate social interactions with the same skill they require to build a collaborative model. 

One parent, whose child attended Lego® Therapy sessions at Magic Words, explained how her child began to generalise his new awareness: 

“He has understood what good listening is for the first time. He now understands why we need to listen and what we need to do to listen well. This has really helped him access small group activities and to concentrate. His eye contact which was a major problem area for him has also improved as a result of understanding that looking is important as it helps people know you are talking to them. He has thoroughly enjoyed the activities and it has also increased his interest in Lego which he is playing with much more outside the group. I think it has also improved his social skills generally...”  

With the motivation of Lego® and the naturalistic setting of a play-based task, this child was able to access a level of social interaction, that he had previously not understood the benefits of. 

It has certainly become apparent that this therapy is versatile and accessible approach for those with social, communication and language difficulties. Carolyn Green and Elen Bekker, two of our very own therapists, remarked in their article 'Building Lego, building language': 'Several parents expressed that Lego Therapy offered intervention where the alternative would have been to not access sessions at all' (Bulletin, November 2016).  

Consequently, what does Lego® mean to the therapists at Magic Words?  

Lego® Therapy is a impressively straightforward and structured approach that allows for a great variety of skills to be modelled, practiced and repeated. It allows a therapist, teacher, teaching assistant or parent to incorporate a diverse range of targets under the guise of play. It allows the children who participate to have fun, to collaborate, to build their skill set brick by brick. 

To learn more about Lego® Therapy, please contact us.

*Re-edited blog post

How to Know if Your Child Has Sensory Feeding Difficulties & How To Help

By Magic Words Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Complex Needs, Raveena Ravinga

Here at Magic Words Therapy we have therapists, like me, who are specialists in supporting people who have feeding difficulties, that means difficulty with eating and drinking. This includes feeding difficulties that are sensory in nature.

A sensory feeding difficulty is when a child eats very few foods because they struggle with how foods taste, smell, feel, look, and even sound when eaten. We use all our senses when we have food in front of us, children with sensory feeding difficulties can experience a sensory overload when presented with food, causing them to have an aversion to foods and often resulting in a very restricted diet. This can be very worrying for parents who are struggling to make sure their child is not undernourished.

Here are my top 3 tips for parents of children with sensory feeding issues:

Concentrate on the food not your child’s behaviour

For all foods that your child does and does not accept, think about how the food presents:

Is it wet or dry? Is it smooth or crunchy? What other foods are the same colour? How does it sound? Does it have a strong smell?

This will help you understand your child’s sensory difficulties more and help you think of other foods your child may accept.

Remove all pressure

Food and mealtimes can already be a time your child does not look forward to, we want to try and create as much of a positive experience as possible. Part of this is removing all pressure for them to touch, smell and taste new foods. Be supportive if they refuse new foods.

Make food fun

Give your child the opportunity to experience food outside of mealtimes. Use different foods to do arts and crafts, e.g. make a Mr. Potato Head using different veggies for the arms, legs, eyes, mouth, hat. Or make a rainbow using different coloured foods. Let your child play with food. Get them involved in the kitchen when you’re baking, ask them to pass you different ingredients and get them to mix ingredients together. Give them choices of fun ingredients to put in! Give them as much hands-on exploration as possible. Take baby steps if needed, remember no pressure.

Our Top 3 Innovative Uses of Online Speech Therapy

By Magic Words Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Complex Needs, Raveena Reniga

We at Magic Words Therapy are currently getting to grips with using online therapy, some of us for the first time, as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. We have been relishing the challenge to adapt to this new way of working and as a team we’re developing innovative new ways to provide speech therapy online. Here are our top 3 innovative uses of online speech therapy:

1. Arts and crafts – online therapy can and should be much more than just sitting at the computer. Therapists and clients can participate in practical activities together, e.g. creating art projects through turn taking, listening and following and giving directions. Craft projects can be completely tailored to each child’s interests, whether those interests be Lego, Peppa Pig or Spiderman. Something motivating can be created for every child.

2. Motivating games – an advantage of online therapy is that as the child is at home as opposed to school, the child’s most motivating toys are within arm’s reach, so us therapists at Magic Words have been using this to our advantage! Children can be really excited to share their favourite toys with us and become motivated when these are incorporated into the therapy sessions. This can work perfectly for listening and receptive language games. This is also a great way for parents to watch the games so that they can then repeat them, using toys they have to hand, between therapy sessions.

3. The World Wide Web – having a two-way screenshare option on our specialist platform has meant we are able to access the vast range of interactive activities and resources that are available to us online. We can adapt these to suit our therapy goals, working on targets whilst the children are having fun!

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Online therapy is becoming more and more popular as a way for families to connect with expert speech and language therapists, and for all the right reasons. Our team at Magic Words is loving being part of this exciting journey of discovery into the vast potentials of online speech therapy.

Providing Feedback to children with SEMH

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Gianina Giangrande

Children with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs will face more failures in their life than the average child. As a result, their baseline level of motivation may be gravely low and easily undone. It is therefore important that feedback they receive in response to performance is constructive as opposed to negative.

According to McLachlan and Elks (2015), an effective way to deliver feedback is to apply their model of constructive criticism.

Great work!

Open with a positive remark (+)

You used relative pronouns effectively in your story.

Provide a specific positive critique (+)

Remember that a new sentence starts with a capital letter.

Provide a specific negative critique (-)

I liked your use of descriptors. It helped me visualize the story well. Well done!

Close with a positive remark (+)

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Feedback can be provided orally but is most helpful if provided in a written format for the child to reference. Review the feedback with the child to make sure he or she understands the comments. If the child is expected to update the work, you can write the critique on a post-it note to be placed on the new submission. This will encourage him or her to apply your advice.

The more positive and concrete interactions students with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health needs have with you, the greater the trust that will develop. Trust is a core component of a positive interaction and, while it can take time, it is well worth the uphill climb.

Elks, L., & McLachlan, H. (2008). Secondary language builders: Speech and language support for 11–16s. St. Mabyn, United Kingdom: Elklan.

Online Therapy for School Children During Lockdown

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Catherine Clancy

How we at Magic Words Therapy are continuing to support the schools and school children who rely on us during the COVID-19 lockdown

During this period of lockdown Magic Words Online has already helped hundreds of children across the 50 schools we work in to continue uninterrupted with their regular speech therapy sessions. Despite the suddenness with which we had to shift from face-to-face sessions to online speech therapy, the results have been extremely positive with great feedback from parents, SENCos and the children themselves.

We are also helping the staff teams of the schools we work with to update their skills by providing online training courses to help with their CPD and forums for teachers and teaching assistants to ask us questions and get support on how they can best support children with speech, language and communication needs.

I personally see online speech therapy as an innovative way of working with children to ensure they continue to make the progress they need to reach their potential. Therapists like myself work hard within schools, supporting children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) and it would be heart-breaking to see that progress plateau, or even more upsetting, regress, during this unprecedented time of COVID-19.

This is why speech therapists like me are working closely with schools to ensure that children can access our therapy in a new way. Online speech therapy allows us to connect with children and support their progress using a live platform that is creative and resourceful. I have personally found online therapy to be fun and engaging for the children through the various in-built apps, games and the interactive and gameified nature of the activities.

This big shift in delivery of therapy to 100% online has opened our eyes to the many benefits of conducting therapy online. Once we have fought this pandemic together, I hope that online therapy will continue to help children access speech and language therapy within schools across the world.

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If you have any concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication, now is the perfect time to refer your child for a free online assessment: https://www.magicwordstherapy.co.uk/onlinetherapy-children

A therapist like myself will assess your child’s needs online and discuss the support we could give moving forwards. You will be able to see for yourself the interactive nature of online therapy and how this can be an effective solution for supporting your child’s progress towards their communication goals.

3 Myths About Your Child's Speech and Language Development

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Eva Chan

Myth 1: Signing with my child will delay his talking

Fact: Signing provides extra clues to help your child better understand and bridge the communication barrier. Makaton is a unique language programme that incorporates signs, symbols and speech to facilitate effective communication.

An example of how helpful Makaton signing can be is if your child has difficulty understanding concepts of position such as on, in and under, supplementing these spoken words with Makaton signs will provide your child with a clear visual cue. It will also allow your child to express themselves effectively and eliminate any frustration they might feel when trying to communicate.

Myth 2: Asking my child to repeat her sentences when she stammers will help with her fluency

Fact: When a child is being put on the spot, their level of anxiety increases and that makes stammering worse. Instead of asking her to repeat her sentences, provide her with your undivided attention and let her know that she has all the time in the world to express her thoughts.

Myth 3: Children learning more than one language should be encouraged not to mix words from both languages in a sentence

Fact: Mixing different languages in one sentence, which is also known as ‘code switching’ is common for most children who are bilingual and if they are doing it, this is a good thing!

This is normal for children immersed in a bilingual environment. Code switching does not mean your child is confused by being exposed to more than one language. Rather, code switching is a sophisticated way of interacting unique to bilinguals as they are able to access words from multiple languages to best get their point across. Children who code switch are actually showing impressive skill with how they are developing language, so be proud of them rather than worried! As a child progresses in their language journey, most children will be able to effectively tell languages apart and switch between them appropriately.

Switching to Online Speech Therapy

By Magic Words Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Complex Needs, Raveena Reniga

Just like many other Speech Therapists all over the world during the last few weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown I have been exploring the very interesting world of online speech therapy. Going from seeing all my clients face to face, I thought it would be a whole new world. To my surprise, online speech therapy has many similarities to face to face therapy.

Something that has by far exceeded my expectations is the large variety of activities we have available to us on our Magic Words Online platform that are designed focus on all aspects of speech and language therapy. Not only that, we are also able put our own resources that we create onto our specialist platform.

I have been able to continue working on the same targets with the children I had been seeing face to face and I have seen the children continue to progress and excel without losing any of the fun of face to face! Activities can be tailored in the same way as face to face and for some children who are really into technology, this use of it in our speech therapy has made them even more motivated. It has been a fantastic way to maintain their social interaction.

For the few children who have not been able to access online therapy directly, I have been able to work directly with their parents/carers to support their child’s speech and language development at home. This support has ranged from creating personalised home programmes with daily activities, to supporting parents to adapt their environment and communication styles to integrate therapy into their daily routine, reviewing progress regularly.

For those who have not yet experienced it, online therapy can be daunting. I would definitely recommend any parent to speak with a therapist who can talk through how it could work for them and their child. It may just surprise you too!

How Does Hearing Affect Speech, Language and Communication Development?

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, by Catherine Clancy

If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language and communication skills, one of the first questions to ask is: what is my child’s hearing like?

It has been well documented over many years that hearing is fundamental for speech and language development. If a child cannot clearly hear the sounds in the word being said, how can we expect a child to identify these sounds, discriminate these from other sounds and produce them? How can we then expect a child to develop his or her vocabulary?

A new-born hearing screening is offered to all babies in England which helps to identify babies with permanent hearing loss as soon as possible. Your child’s hearing may then be tested as part of a review for his or her health and development from 9 months – 2.5 years. Most children will then have a hearing test when they start school, at around 4 or 5 years old.

We are very fortunate in the UK with our NHS to have free screenings like these in place that support early identification of hearing difficulties. However, if you have concerns about your child’s speech, language and communication skills you should ask the question: what is my child’s hearing like? If you also have concerns about your child’s ability to hear, then their hearing can be checked at any other time by speaking to your GP or health visitor who will support a referral to audiology. It is important that your child’s hearing has been assessed in the last year if they are presenting with delayed speech and language skills.

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A therapist like myself will assess your child’s needs online and discuss the support moving forwards. https://www.magicwordstherapy.co.uk/our-team

Facilitating Positive Interactions with your child with SEMH Needs

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Gianina Giangrande

The more we focus on creating the right kind of environment for our children with SEMH (Social, Emotional, and Mental Health) needs, with an emphasis on warm relationships and suitable stimulation, the more we will see the secure and happy side of them. With schools closed and routines drastically altered, the PRIDE model (Gershenson, Lyon and Budd, 2010) gives parents ways to think about positive interaction in the home environment.

P: praise appropriate behavior.

Encourage positive behavior being displayed by making specific and anchored statements (e.g. “I love how you helped your brother prepare lunch”).

R: reflect appropriate speech.

Reply to your children’s remarks to show that you are listening and respond using slightly more complex sentences and wording to model it to them. (e.g. Child: I made a dragon. Parent:Wow, you made a really unique and devilish dragon. I like how the eyes show his deviousness).

I: imitate appropriate behavior/ engagement.

Imitate your child’s actions when they demonstrate appropriate engagement to reinforce your togetherness (e.g. If your child starts making up dance moves, join in and do the same).

D: describe appropriate behavior.

Be vocal about what the child is doing well so that they know they are engaging appropriately, and they feel praised (e.g. I like how you’re waiting nicely for your brother to finish).

E: be enthusiastic in tone and body language.

Keep your interactions positive and playful to help your child maintain interest and want to build on the experience (e.g. parent uses a lively tone and frequent smiles while together).

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The impact of applying these strategies will be nurturing a child to have greater self-esteem and be more willing to engage in positive interactions. Thus, the child will have greater access to social opportunities in his or her world. A win-win for all!

Online Speech Therapy: Top Tips for Parents

By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Eva Chan

Here are some top tips for parents to help you prepare for your child's online speech therapy session so that they can get the most out of this highly effective way of accessing speech and language therapy.

SET THEIR EXPECTATIONS

Before the session, discuss with your child the differences between an online session compared to a face-to-face session. Explain they’ll be seeing and talking to their therapist on a screen!

ENVIRONMENT

Choose an appropriate environment. Reduce the background noise by setting up your laptop or tablet in a calm, distraction-free place in your home. A home office, or a sitting room would be ideal. To further reduce distractions, try giving them headphones.

EQUIPMENT

While most children will probably know how to work a mouse or touch pad, some training in this may be required for younger children who are not familiar with these. If you can help them to learn to use a mouse or touch pad your child can then join in onscreen drawing on the virtual whiteboard during the online therapy session. This is a really fun and useful part of online speech therapy.

PREPARATION

You can always set up a trial session with your therapist beforehand. Get your child to roleplay and get comfortable before a session starts. Allow ample time to prepare for a session so you are ready to go at the scheduled time!

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Making the change from face-to-face sessions to online speech therapy sessions can be a little daunting to think about but in practice it’s not too different once you get going! In fact,most of my clients have engaged and responded extremely well to online therapy. Which child do you know that wouldn’t want a virtual sticker or to play an online game as a reward after some good work?! Children seem to love seeing us through a screen and get very excited to see us in their living room!